Shaheen sits by his World record clock in Brussels (© Getty Images)
MonacoThe second edition of the IAAF World Athletics Final takes place in Monaco on Saturday 18 and 19 September, and we are pleased to continue with the second of our event category previews with the men's and women's middle & long distance – 800m, 1500, 3000m, 5000m - and men's 3000m Steeplechase.
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The start-list of the World Athletics Final is decided according to the IAAF World Rankings, with athletes who are in the top 7 positions (11 positions for the races of 1500m and over) in each event automatically qualifying.
The date upon which the IAAF Rankings are calculated with respect to the World Athletics Final, is after the TDK Golden League meeting in Berlin on Sunday 12 September, which is the last IAAF outdoor meeting of the season.
Consequently, our previews are as accurate as possible given that no one can predict the results which might occur during the course of the next week or if an athlete is available or fit enough to compete.
Click here to go to the current IAAF World Rankings------------
Middle and Long Distance
Men
800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 3000m Steeplechase
Besides several eagerly anticipated Olympic rematches that are on tap, the most alluring aspect of the middle and long distance races in Monaco is that “the steeplechase question” can finally be addressed: could Saif Saeed Shaheen have prevented a Kenyan podium sweep at the Olympic Games? That question will be answered on Sunday, 19 September when the 21-year-old Qatari toes the line with Kenyans Ezekiel Kemboi and Paul Kipsiele Koech, the Olympic gold and bronze medallists. This event is most certainly an example of the very Best of the Best of Athletics
If there were any doubts that the late date of the World Athletics Final would preclude thrilling head-to-heads and fast times, Shaheen laid them to rest last year. In the most riveting race of the inaugural edition, Shaheen, the former Kenyan Stephen Cherono, was pushed to a world-leading performance by Koech, winning by just 4/100s of second, just a few weeks after he battled and brawled with Kemboi en route to his win at the World Championships. In short, these three men have a history. Just two weeks after his World record shattering antics in Brussels, Shaheen and the Kenyan duo will meet to perhaps show once and for all what could have been had he been allowed to compete in Athens.
Last year, 800 metre world leader Wilfred Bungei was in a situation similar to that of Shaheen. The strongest force of the year, illness kept him from the Kenyan trials and subsequently the World Championships. This season, Bungei is once again the fastest in the world, but this time around comes to Monaco to avenge his fifth place finish in Athens. The Olympic podium trio - champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy, silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and bronze medallist Wilson Kipketer - each have their own points to prove, culminating in what could be a classic showdown. Also playing prominent roles will be Kenyans William Yiampoy and Joseph Mutua, second and third behind Bungei in a fast race in Brussels last weekend. Mutua underscored his fitness with an even faster win in Rieti on Sunday.
With Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj announcing on Friday that his season has come to an end, the 1500 features a slew of Kenyans, led by silver medallist Bernard Lagat (but who also indicated in Rieti on Sunday that fatigue might have ended his year too). Paul Korir was the narrow winner last year over Alex Kipchirchir in a tactical race, and both will return this year. Timothy Kiptanui, fourth in Athens, will arrive in Monaco hot off a 3:30.24 win in Brussels. But the presence of Athens bronze medallist Rui Silva and Ukraine’s Ivan Heshko, who followed up his fifth place finish in Athens with a national record 3:30.33 in Brussels, will ensure that the metric mile will not be a strictly east African affair.
Last year, Kenenisa Bekele made his first visit to Monaco a memorable one. The freshly cast World champion in the 10,000 metres, cruised to a comfortable win in the 3000. He returns this year as a double Olympic medallist and double World record holder to lead a strong Ethiopian presence into battle against their perennial rivals from Kenya. 12 of the top 15 ranked distance runners are from the two east African nations - six apiece - guaranteeing hotly contested team battles in both the 3000 and 5000.
Joining Bekele will be Sileshi Sihine, the silver medallist in the 10,000, and Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam and Dejene Birhanu, third and fourth in the Athens 5000. Forming the backbone of the Kenyan squad are 5000 bronze medallist Eliud Kipchoge, the reigning World Champion, and John Kibowen, sixth in the Athens 5000.
Adding to the “what if” theme in Monaco, Mushir Salem Jawher, the former Kenyan Leonard Mucheru and Qatari Ahmad Hassan Abdullah, the former Kenyan Albert Chepkurui, will end their notable seasons her as well. Australian Craig Mottram, whose fierce battle with Haile Gebrselassie in London’s Crystal Palace in late July resulted in a 12:55.76 Area record, will once again challenge African superiority in the distances.
Women
800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m
The women’s races are no less compelling.
Clearly carrying the strongest momentum in the middle distances at the moment is Briton Kelly Holmes, who raced to a dazzling and rare double win in Athens. Whichever event she chooses - perhaps another double? - Holmes will be the prohibitive favourite as she now finds herself in yet another battle, one for Athlete-of-the-Year honours.
In the 800, she could face a solid field that includes training partner Maria Mutola, the three-time World outdoor champion who left Athens empty-handed. With two losses this year in the event she has dominated for nearly a decade, 'million dollar Mutola' has a point to prove to critics who now say that her best days are behind her.
Moroccan Hasna Benhassi put on a dazzling display of her own in Athens, capped by a surprise silver medal finish: she won’t be overlooked here. Slovenia’s Jolanda Ceplak, the World indoor record holder who fought back from the verge of disaster in Athens to claim the bronze, is always a threat. World leader Tatyana Andrianova (1:56.23) of Russia solidified her credentials with another sub-1:57 performance to finish fifth in Athens. She’ll be looking for her first major win to compliment her world-leader status. Also concluding a solid season will be U.S. champion Jearl Miles Clark, who at 37, forced the pace in Athens, finishing sixth.
In the 1500, Holmes’ task would be no less daunting. Six women dipped under four minutes in the Athens final; all have earned their tickets to Monaco, lead by silver medallist Tatyana Tomashova of Russia and bronze medallist Maria Cioncan of Romania. Fourth place finisher Natalya Yevdokimova of Russia, Bulgarian Daniela Yordanova, and Poland’s Lidia Chojecka, fifth and sixth respectively in Athens, should be toeing the line as well.
Other possible finalists in the potent field include Britain's Hayley Tullett, bronze medallist in Paris last year, and another Russian, Olga Yegorova, who was undefeated in the distance prior to Athens. She returned to the winning side of things in Rieti on Sunday. Paris Golden League winner Judit Varga of Hungary and Canada's World Indoor bronze medallist Carmen Douma-Hussar are looking to end their coming out seasons with strong showings here.
As in the men’s races, the women’s distance events will feature heated battles between the rival Ethiopian and Kenyan contingents.
With Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba, the 5000 metres gold and bronze medallists from Athens leading the way, the Ethiopian squad is a formidable one. Throw in Ejegayehu Dibaba, Derartu Tulu, and Werknesh Kidane, second, third and fourth in the Athens 10,000, and the delegation becomes a downright ferocious one, in both the 3000 and 5000.
The Kenyan attack will be led by Isabella Ochichi, the silver medallist in the 5000, and Edith Masai, the World short course cross country champion who at age 37, bounced back from a DNF in Athens to win in Brussels with a personal best 14:42.64.
But the outcomes are hardly predictable. Last year, Elvan Abeylegesse scored the first major win of her career here with a surprise victory over Dibaba, Tulu and Kidane in the 5000. The 22-year-old Turk returns this year as the World record holder in the distance, and after her disappointing eight and 12th place finishes in the 1500 and 5000 in Athens, will look to end her season on a similar note to last year. Briton Jo Pavey, fifth in the Athens 5000, followed up with a near personal best 14:49.11 to finish third in Brussels. China’s Xing Huina, the recently-minted Olympic 10,000 metre champion and Sun Yingjie, who attempted a difficult distance double in Athens, may compete as well.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
The men’s 800 and 3000 and women’s 1500 and 5000 will be held on Saturday, with the men’s 1500, steeplechase and 5000 and women’s 800 and 3000 on Sunday.
IAAF World Athletics Final
Monaco, MON, 18 and 19 September 2004.
